Russia threatened to attack deep into Ukraine, Kiev set fire to two Rosneft oil depots

In a statement on April 24, the Kremlin warned that Russia would expand the buffer zone in Ukraine if Kiev received ATACMS missiles from the US and attacked deeper into Russian territory.

This means that Russian forces will respond and attack deeper into Ukrainian territory, expanding operations in areas that have not yet been captured.

Previously, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hinted at the possibility of attacking Ukraine’s second largest city and located near the Russian border, Kharkov. This city has not only strategic but also symbolic significance for Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly argued that to protect the safety of its people and territory, Russia must expand the so-called “security buffer zone” in Ukraine, pushing Ukrainian weapons systems away from Russia’s borders. .

However, the West believes that the security buffer zone is just an excuse for Russia to continue military activities in Ukraine and attack and control more lands in neighboring countries.

What weapons Ukraine receives from Western allies has attracted attention after the US Congress approved an aid package of more than 60 billion USD for Ukraine. According to CNN, the US is preparing to send $1 billion worth of weapons to Kiev, focusing on 155mm artillery and anti-aircraft ammunition.

In recent weeks, President Joe Biden administration officials have mentioned providing ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.

Last year, the US for the first time sent Ukraine a medium-range version of the ATACMS missile system, with a range of about 160km, while the long-range version can fire more than 300km.

Previously, also on April 24, Reuters news agency reported that two oil warehouses of Rosneft Group in the Smolensk area of ​​Russia were attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) on the night of April 23. Smolensk is located in northern Ukraine, more than 270km from the country’s border as the crow flies.

A Reuters intelligence source revealed that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was behind the incident. This source also said that the attacked warehouses contained about 26,000m³ The fuel caused a large fire after the raid, forcing many people to evacuate.

“The SBU will continue to effectively destroy military and logistical infrastructure supplying fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine. These facilities are and will be our legitimate targets,” he said. confirm.

Russian authorities confirmed the incident but said there was no loss of life. “Once again, we were attacked by Ukrainian drones,” the head of the Smolensk region Vasily Anokhi wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine is increasing attacks on Russian energy and oil facilities with long-range drones. However, this move has caused concern in the West, leading to calls for Kiev to stop to avoid retaliation from Moscow and a spike in global oil prices.

As of the end of March, Ukrainian drone attacks had disrupted about 14% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, according to Reuters calculations.